robotwarsfandomcom-20200215-history
Dartford Girls Grammar
Dartford Girls Grammar was the name given to the team of roboteers responsible for the Napalm and Detonator robots. The team fought in the first five series of Robot Wars, along with the first series of Robot Wars Extreme, making them one of the longest-appearing teams to debut in Series 1. Despite having a reputation for fragile and inoffensive robots, the team did surprisingly welll, reaching the Semi-Finals in Series 2 and the Heat Final in Series 3. In five wars, the team never lost in the first round. In Series 1, the team called themselves "The Femme Fatale". The Team Named for the private school from which the team originated (The Dartford Grammar School for Girls), the team comprised of teacher David Crosby and a number of his students. The main students (Clare Greenaway and Vicki Allgood) remained in the team throughout Robot Wars, as opposed to Crosby bringing on new students each year. The core Dartford team was David Crosby and Clare Greenaway, with Victoria Allgood as the most common third member. During Extreme 1 and Series 1, David Crosby and Vicki Allgood appeared in every fight whilst Tegan Crosby, Michelle Davey and Clare Greenaway all rotated depending on availability. However, the scoreboards always credited Crosby, Allgood and Greenaway in Extreme 1. David Crosby and Tegan Crosby David Crosby was the captain of the Dartford Girls Grammar team. He was the only person to appear in the team in every single battle. Crosby was the head technology teacher at Dartford Girls Grammar and teacher of Greenaway, Allgood, Glenn and Davey. Crosby began the show as a very hands-off teacher; whilst he bore a large part of the responsibility for Detonator's and Napalm's maintenance, the driving and interviews with Philippa Forrester, Jeremy Clarkson and Craig Charles he left to Clare Greenaway. Crosby was famously jittery and animated during battles. He was visibly agitated during Detonator's Gauntlet run and even left the pits to rush to Greenaway and Allgood's side during the Trial. It was not uncommon for Crosby to take over driving or even reach over Greenaway's shoulders to help during a fight. He drove Napalm in Series 3 and Shadow of Napalm in Series 4. Crosby was highly excitable during Napalm's victories and took its defeats in good humour. He was also self-effacing, calling Shadow of Napalm a bad robot and noting that he wished Greenaway had been driving. By Series 5, David Crosby was the Head of Technology at Dover Grammar School for Boys. However, he remained in contact with the Dartford girls and the team continued to compete regardless. For Series 6, David Crosby conceptualised a new heavyweight robot named Skull and Crossguns'http://www.dovergrammar.co.uk/archives/papers/2002-01-24-Mercury.html, with inspiration from the song "Stand and Deliver" by Adam Ant, and the team planned to wear highwayman-style costumes to go with their robot. It is unknown if the robot was completed in time for qualification. David's daughter Tegan joined the team to replace Vicki Allgood during Detonator's appearance in the War for Independence at the end of Series 4. Crosby said she would be driving the robot, however he ultimately drove the robot in the fight against frenZy. Tegan also appeared in some fights during Extreme 1, such as the Mayhem qualifier. Clare Greenaway Clare Greenaway was the most prominent of all the Dartford students and did most of the interviews with Philippa Forrester and Jeremy Clarkson. She was the driver of Detonator in Series 1 and Napalm in Series 2 and was fifteen during The First Wars. Greenaway was notable in being the only female roboteer to complete the Gauntlet, doing so on her third attempt during Napalm's semi-final appearance. She also drove Napalm during its feud with Mortis, in both the controversial pinball and the subsequent grudge match. After being visibly upset after Napalm's elimination, she and Rob Knight made amends at the conclusion of the grudge match special during which she accidentally reversed into the pit. Like Crosby, Greenaway took Napalm's faults in good humour. Greenaway left the team around the time of Series 5 to travel to Africa on a World Challenge Expedition. She appeared during Extreme 1 but remained mostly in the background, though she continued to be credited as team member in her absences. Victoria Allgood Victoria "Vicki" Allgood was also fifteen during Series 1 and appeared on the Detonator team. She missed Series 2 and returned in Series 3, remaining with the team until Napalm's eventual retirement. She did miss the War of Independence and had her role filled by Tegan Crosby. During Extreme 1 and Series 5, she began driving Napalm during the fights with Warhog and Wild Thing. She was the only team member still at Dartford during Series 5, as Crosby had moved to Dover and Davey and Greenaway had both graduated. Rebecca Glenn and Michelle Davey Rebecca Glenn and Michelle Davey rounded out Napalm's team. Glenn replaced Allgood in Series 2, during which Napalm reached the semi-finals. Davey rotated through the team in Series 5 and Extreme 1. Davey, however, was not a current student during this time and was working for Bank of Scotland. Robots Detonator 1.JPG|Detonator (Series 1) Napalm 1.jpg|Napalm (Series 2) Napalm_official_image_series_3.JPG|Napalm (Series 3) Shadowofnapalm.jpg|Shadow of Napalm (Series 4) Detonator.jpg|Detonator (Series 4) Napalm.png|Napalm (Extreme 1) Napalm.jpg|Napalm 2 (Extreme 1, Series 5) Wins/Losses *Wins: 8 *Losses: 10 Series Record Trivia *With losses in Series 1 and 2, Dartford Girls Grammar has been eliminated at the Trial stage more than any other competitor. External Links *Dartford Grammar School for Girls website *Napalm website (archived) References Category:Team Pages Category:Competitors in 5 Wars Category:Teams who entered the same series with more than one robot